Just Another Blogger

allegations

This is an innocent man. I don’t know that he didn’t rape those women but I do know he wasn’t proven guilty of any rapes and we need to adhere to the principle innocent until proven guilty. There are no exceptions for celebrities nor the type of crime committed. Innocent until proven guilty means something. It’s not there to make us feel good like In God We Trust. It’s there because it is the only way to have a society where the innocent aren’t wrongly punished. While once in a while we know a guilty person gets off and leaves a bad taste in our mouths I assure you the taste is much worse when an innocent man is wrongly punished.

I do not know what the count is on the number of women who have accused Mr. Cosby at this point, I think I read 14 in one article, it could be more by now. What I do know is not a single woman made these allegations when there would have been time to properly investigate. That choice has consequences- lifelong consequences and never being able to prove his guilt is one of them. If it is true then the women’s decisions were no doubt difficult. I can see the logic in not wanting to risk your career and reputation by accusing a beloved performer of a terrible crime. However they made their choice. It is not the public’s job to punish someone with no evidence. Women can lie about rape. We know this, we’ve always known it and the recent retraction of the Rolling Stones article should be a loud reminder. Why would they lie? I don’t know and I dare not speculate, but it happens. Obviously not all rape allegations are false- but that is what a trial is supposed to decide. I don’t blame the women for coming forward now, it is most certainly their right if true- but I do blame our society for convicting a man without a trace of physical evidence.